2019-testimony

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2019 Testimony

The Commissioner and other members of the New York City Commission on Human Rights senior staff periodically testify before the City Council on issues involving the Commission and the NYC Human Rights Law.

December 12, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the Committee on Aging and Committee on Housing and Buildings

“Thank you for convening today’s hearing. Before turning to Intros. 225 and 6, I will highlight some of the Commission’s recent work. The Commission is the local civil rights enforcement agency that enforces the New York City Human Rights Law, one of the broadest and most protective anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws in the country, now totaling 26 protected categories across nearly all aspects of city living: housing, employment, and public accommodations, in addition to discriminatory harassment and bias-based profiling by law enforcement. By statute, the Commission has two main functions.”

November 27, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the Committee on Women and Gender Equity

"Thank you for having today’s oversight hearing on Access, Resources, and Support for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming New Yorkers. I am Chanel Lopez and I am the Trans Communities Liaison at the New York City Commission on Human Rights. I am testifying today along with my colleague, Demoya Gordon, on behalf the New York City Commission on Human Rights. The Commission on Human Rights has been prioritizing, creating access and visibility, and supporting transgender and gender non-conforming and non-binary people since the start of Commissioner Malalis’s tenure back in 2015, and we are very proud to talk about the work that we are doing at our agency. I will focus my remarks on the Commission’s outreach initiatives, and Ms. Gordon, my colleague, will address the agency’s law enforcement work in that area."

November 18, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the Committee on Civil and Human Rights

“Thank you for convening today’s hearing on Intro. 339-A, which would extend employment protections under the City Human Rights Law to domestic workers, regardless of their employer’s size. The bill would eliminate the four-employee minimum for employer liability with respect to domestic workers—meaning that a domestic worker, often working as the sole employee of an employer, would have explicit protection under the City Human Rights Law from discrimination and harassment in hiring, firing, and the terms and conditions of employment, with respect to reasonable accommodations, and with respect to retaliation.”

October 8, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the Committee on Civil and Human Rights and the Committee on Aging

“Thank you for convening today’s hearing on Intros. 1684, 1685, 1693, 1694, and 1695–five pieces of legislation that seek to address age discrimination in the workplace. Before I turn to the legislation, I want to highlight some of the Commission’s recent work. The Commission is the local civil rights enforcement agency that enforces the NYC Human Rights Law, one of the broadest and most protective anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws in the country, now totaling 26 protected categories across nearly all aspects of city living: housing, employment, and public accommodations, in addition to discriminatory harassment and bias-based profiling by law enforcement.”

September 18, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the Committee on Civil and Human Rights

“Thank you for convening today’s hearing on Intros. 85 and 1603, two important bills in the City’s effort to address housing discrimination and access to housing. The Commission’s efforts to combat housing discrimination are more robust than ever. In January 2018, the Commission established its source of income unit, a small, dedicated unit of staff specifically focused on both immediate interventions and larger-scale systemic prosecutions to combat source of income discrimination, in which individuals with housing vouchers, including Section 8, City FEPS, HASA or other forms of rental subsidies, are turned away by landlords who refuse to accept them, which has been a violation of the City Human Rights Law since 2008.”

May 24, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly

“In February, my testimony focused primarily on the ways in which the State Human Rights Law could be amended to align itself more closely with the New York City Human Rights Law, giving the state law more teeth to hold harassers and those that enable them accountable and to afford more victims the legal protections they need to pursue justice... Today, I am here to briefly discuss the work of the Commission’s Gender-Based Harassment Unit, and several recent developments in the Commission’s efforts to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.”

March 25, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the Committee on Civil and Human Rights

“February marked my four-year anniversary as Commissioner and Chairperson at the Commission, and I am, as always, proud to share some of what we’ve accomplished at the Commission in the past year. Our commitment to holding up and supporting communities under relentless attack by white nationalists or under federal policies only deepened in 2018. We continue to be steadfast in our work to protect the rights of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable, in this deeply troubling climate.”

February 27, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the Committee on Public Safety jointly with the Committee on the Justice System, the Committee on Civil and Human Rights, and the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing

“By statute, the Commission has two main functions. The first is as a civil law enforcement agency, enforcing the City’s anti-discrimination law, called the City Human Rights Law, one of the most comprehensive anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws in the country. The Commission’s Law Enforcement Bureau (LEB) investigates complaints of discrimination from the public, initiates its own investigations on behalf of the City, and utilizes its in-house testing program to help identify entities breaking the law… The second main function of the Commission is to perform community outreach and provide education on the City Human Rights Law and human rights-related issues, which is why the Commission also has a Community Relations Bureau comprised of Community Service Centers in each of the City’s five boroughs.”

February 13, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly

“There is a growing recognition that the 'severe or pervasive' standard is insufficient and outdated, and that broader standards, like that of New York City, could be a better model elsewhere. In fact, lawmakers from other jurisdictions, including the California State Senate and the U.S. Senate, have sought our feedback and expertise in exploring alternative standards and crafting sexual harassment legislation. If there is any change you may consider today, I strongly urge you to reject the 'severe or pervasive' standard for harassment claims of all kinds – including race-based harassment, religious-based harassment, and every other form of protected category – and move to a broader standard.”

February 6, 2019

The NYC Commission on Human Rights before the Committee on Civil and Human Rights

“I am pleased to be here to testify on the Commission’s testing and investigatory work in the context of Commission-initiated investigations and enforcement actions. The Commission has the power to initiate its own investigations and resulting enforcement actions when entities are suspected of maintaining or engaging in discriminatory policies or practices. In addition to filing complaints and testing, both of which are further described below, the Commission sends cease-and-desist letters and also uses a range of investigative methods, such as requests for information on policies and practices, demands for documents, and interviews of key witnesses. Cease-and-desist letters are a relatively new tool the Commission has been deploying with great success. The letters notify the wrong-doer that the actions taken may be a violation of the New York City Human Rights Law, demand the discriminatory actions cease, and demand that specific actions be taken, including, for example, restoring a victim of discrimination to the status they were in before the discriminatory action.”